The present invention relates to pneumatic-tired wheels for motor vehicles, and relates in particular to multiple-tire wheel assemblies in which the number of tires in contact with the road is selectively variable.
The style and size of tire used on a motor vehicle can affect a number of vehicle operating characteristics, so it is common for vehicle tires to be selected on the basis of particular desired performance characteristics. A high-profile tire may be defined as a tire having a comparatively high aspect ratio, or height-to-width ratio, where the height is the distance measured radially from the tire""s circumference to the rim opening. A narrow, high-profile tire with a comparatively smooth tread design may be preferred where fuel economy, low road noise, and ride quality are the main operational concerns. However, high-profile tires do not have ideal handling characteristics in terms of steering, acceleration, and braking, so a wider, low-profile tire, with a coarser tread design and perhaps a softer rubber formulation for improved traction, may be preferred for vehicles intended for high-performance handling under aggressive driving conditions. Unfortunately, low-profile tires do not perform as well as high-profile tires in terms of fuel economy, road noise, ride quality, and tire wear.
For these reasons, tire selection has traditionally involved compromise, sacrificing certain desirable performance characteristics for others. Vehicles such as family sedans or mini-vans, which are mainly intended for comparatively sedate driving styles and straight-line highway driving, are typically fitted with softer-riding high-profile tires, while sports sedans and sports cars are commonly fitted with low-profile high-performance tires. Each of these compromises works acceptably when the vehicles in question are being operated according to their primary intended functions, but both suffer from significant drawbacks when operational conditions change. A vehicle riding on typical high-profile tires will be more difficult to handle confidently and safely when travelling fast on narrow, winding roads where tight cornering and hard braking may be required, especially when traction is poor due to rough, wet, or icy road surface conditions. In contrast, a vehicle with low-profile, high-performance tires will generally handle much more responsively under such adverse conditions than if it had high-profile tires, but on the freeways it will give a rougher and noisier ride, with poorer fuel economy.
The prior art discloses numerous attempts to provide vehicle tire systems with variable characteristics to adapt to different operating conditions, including inventions which use multiple-tire assemblies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,751,959, issued to Blomquiston Jun. 26, 1956, discloses a tire-and-wheel assembly having a selectively-inflatable auxiliary tire coaxially disposed between two conventional tires, on a specialized telescoping rim and axle assembly. The auxiliary tire has a unique accordion-like construction. The diameter of the auxiliary tire when uninflated is less than that of the two conventional tires, so the auxiliary tire is not in contact with the road surface when in its uninflated state. When inflated, its diameter expands to match that of the conventional tires, and it also expands laterally, displacing the outboard conventional tire further outboard. Accordingly, inflation of the auxiliary tire greatly increases the total width of the wheel assembly and the total area of tire contact with the road surface, thereby providing improved traction. While this invention may be useful in adapting vehicles for use in some adverse conditions, such as soft or swampy terrain, it has numerous drawbacks including the need for a complicated rim and axle assembly to permit expansion of the auxiliary tire and lateral displacement of the outboard tire. As well, the auxiliary tire is of specialized construction and is correspondingly more expensive than a conventional tire.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,335, issued to O""Brien on Aug. 4, 1998, and in related U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,082, issued to O""Brien on Feb. 8, 2000, a studded, selectively-inflatable auxiliary tire of specialized construction is coaxially disposed between two conventional tires. As in Blomquist, the uninflated diameter of the auxiliary tire in the O""Brien patents is less than that of the conventional tires. Upon inflation, the auxiliary tire expands in diameter (but does not expand laterally as in Blomquist) until it substantially matches the diameter of the conventional tires, such that the studs of the auxiliary tire may engage the road surface. The auxiliary tire thus may be inflated or deflated as desired, to suit particular road conditions. The auxiliary tire of U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,335 is expressly not intended to carry any of the vehicle weight, whereas U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,082 contemplates that all three tires may be load-carrying. However, the two conventional tires carry vehicle loads at all times.
The inventions disclosed in the O""Brien patents cited above are directed primarily to providing enhanced traction on slippery road surfaces, with the means for providing enhanced traction being disengageable when road conditions are favourable. Other prior art references directed toward the same general objective, in the context of either single-tire or double-tire assemblies, include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,201,632, issued May 21, 1940 (Roessel)
U.S. Pat. No. 2,241,849, issued May 13, 1941 (Fuchs)
U.S. Pat. No. 2,254,318, issued Sep. 2, 1941 (Roessel)
U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,199, issued Oct. 2, 1956 (Partin)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,810,451, issued Sep. 22, 1998 (O""Brien)
U.S. Pat. No. 5,839,795, issued Nov. 24, 1998 (Matsuda et al.)
U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,883, issued Apr. 4, 2000 (Noyes)
While the inventions disclosed in these prior art references may be effective in providing increased traction and skid resistance on wet or icy roads, they do not address other desirable objectives such as selectively optimizing ride quality, fuel economy, and general handling characteristics to suit varying road conditions. Furthermore, these inventions typically involve complex traction mechanisms or tires of specialized construction. All of the above-cited prior art inventions embody one or more conventional tires which are in load-bearing contact with the road surface at all times, regardless of whether the inventions""particular traction enhancement means are engaged, and regardless of the road conditions being travelled on.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a vehicle tire system in which performance parameters including traction, acceleration, braking, cornering, ride quality, and fuel economy may be selectively optimized to suit specific road characteristics and surface conditions. In addition, there is a need for a vehicle tire system which meets this need without requiring tires or wheels of highly specialized construction. There is furthermore a need for a vehicle tire system in which performance parameters may be automatically optimized to suit road conditions according to selected criteria, without requiring input or selection from the vehicle operator. The present invention is directed to these needs.
In general terms, the present invention is a wheel-and-tire apparatus, for mounting on a motor vehicle in place of a conventional single-tire or dual-tire assembly. The apparatus includes an assembly of two coaxially-mounted tires, plus means for adjusting the diameter of one or both tires, which may be adjusted such that both of the tires, or only one of the tires, will be in contact with a road surface over which a vehicle is travelling. The apparatus therefore facilitates the selective use of tires having different performance characteristics, as may be desired or preferred to suit particular road conditions or vehicle operating conditions. Adjustment of the relative diameters of the tires may be accomplished by inflating or partially deflating a particular tire or both tires, using one or more pneumatic pumps. Alternatively, tire diameter adjustment may be accomplished by mechanical deformation of one or both tires.
Although tire diameter adjustment may be controlled manually, the present invention also provides for automatic tire diameter adjustment through use of sensors which are mounted in the vehicle and which sense selected operational parameters; e.g., speed, acceleration, steering input, and braking input. The sensors transmit corresponding signals to a computer which, using a program stored in a memory in the computer, selects an optimal tire configuration to suit the particular combination of operational parameters received from the sensors. The computer then transmits a corresponding signal instructing the tire diameter adjustment means, be it pneumatic pump means or mechanical deformation means or other means, to adjust the diameter of one or more tires in the assembly as required to achieve the selected optimal tire configuration.
In the preferred embodiment, the invention is a wheel-and-tire apparatus having an inboard rim and an outboard rim coaxially mountable on a wheel hub of a motor vehicle; an inboard tire and an outboard tire mounted on the inboard and outboard rims respectively; tire diameter adjustment means adapted to selectively introduce compressed air into, or to exhaust air out of, a designated tire selected from said inboard and outboard tires, while the wheel assembly is rotating; an actuator associated with the tire diameter adjustment means; a computer having a memory; one or more sensors, each sensor being adapted to be able to measure a selected operational parameter of the vehicle, and each sensor having a sensor communication link for conveying sensor signals, corresponding to measurements made by the sensor, from the sensor to the computer; and an actuator communication link, for conveying actuation signals from the computer to the actuator. Stored in the computer memory is a tire configuration protocol comprising selected optimum tire configurations corresponding to selected sensor signals or combinations of sensor signals. The protocol includes the tire configurations in which (a) both tires, (b) only the inboard tire, and (c) only the outboard tire is in operatively-effective contact with the road surface. The computer is adapted and programmed to receive a sensor signal or signals through the sensor communication link or links; then, having reference to the tire configuration protocol, to select a tire configuration corresponding to the received sensor signal or combination of sensor signals; and then to transmit a corresponding actuation signal to the actuator, through the actuator communication link. The actuator is adapted to actuate the tire diameter adjustment means, in response to and in accordance with an actuation signal from the computer, so as to inflate or deflate the designated tire as necessary to deploy a selected one or both of the tires in operatively-effective contact with the road surface, in accordance with the selected tire configuration.
In the preferred embodiment, the operational parameter measured by each sensor is selected from the group consisting of vehicle speed, acceleration, engine speed, braking load, steering input, steering load, engaged transmission gear, tire pressure, tire temperature, and shock absorber load.
Also in the preferred embodiment, the tire diameter adjustment means is further adapted to selectively introduce compressed air into, or to exhaust air out of, both the inboard tire and the outboard tire, while the wheel assembly is rotating, so as to selectively inflate or deflate both the inboard and outboard tires as necessary to selectively deploy both tires, only the inboard tire, or only the outboard tire in operatively-effective contact with the road surface, in accordance with the selected tire configuration.
The actuator communication link may be a wired connection. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, however, the computer further comprises means for transmitting wireless signals; the actuator further comprises means for receiving wireless signals; and the actuator communication link is a wireless connection.
Similarly, the sensor communication links may be wired connections, but in the preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one of the sensors further comprises means for transmitting wireless signals; the computer further comprises means for receiving wireless sensor signals; and each sensor communication link associated with a sensor having wireless transmission means is a wireless connection.
In the preferred embodiment, variation of the relative diameters of the tires will be effected by at least one pneumatic pump forming part of the tire diameter adjustment means. For example, a single pump may be provided, with an air outlet in fluid communication with the interior of the designated tire, and with the capability of pumping compressed air into the designated tire or exhausting air out of the designated tire, as may be desired.